portion
Americannoun
-
portions
plural
-
a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it.
I read a portion of the manuscript.
- Antonyms:
- whole
-
an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping.
He took a large portion of spinach.
- Synonyms:
- ration
-
the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.
-
the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.
- Synonyms:
- inheritance
-
Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.
-
(especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.
verb (used with object)
-
portions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
portioned,
past participle, past
-
portioning
present participle
-
to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed byout ).
-
to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry.
All of his children have been amply portioned.
- Synonyms:
- endow
-
to provide with a lot or fate.
She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.
noun
-
a part of a whole; fraction
-
a part allotted or belonging to a person or group
-
an amount of food served to one person; helping
-
law
-
a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents
-
the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry
-
-
a person's lot or destiny
verb
-
to divide up; share out
-
to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate
-
law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow
Synonym Usage
See part.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
reportionverb (used with object)
-
portionableadjective
-
portionlessadjective
-
unportionableadjective
-
unportionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
portionsimple
-
portionssimple
-
have portionedperfect
-
has portionedperfect
-
am portioningprogressive
-
are portioningprogressive
-
is portioningprogressive
-
have been portioningperfect progressive
-
has been portioningperfect progressive
Past
-
portionedsimple
-
had portionedperfect
-
was portioningprogressive
-
were portioningprogressive
-
had been portioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of portion
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō ) “share, part,” akin to pars part
Explanation
If a friend asks you to invest in her new start-up in exchange for a portion, or part, of the company’s profits, consider the agreement carefully. Remember, a portion of zero is still zero. Portion can also refer to the amount of food provided for each person at a meal. If you’re reviewing a restaurant, for example, you'll want to take note of the portion size. In addition, portion can be used as a verb meaning “divide and distribute something.” At birthday parties, we find it odd that the person celebrating her birthday is expected to perform the annoying task of portioning her own cake (perhaps it’s so she can claim the biggest portion).
Vocabulary lists containing portion
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 1
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kiersten says she was initially attracted to the dessert as she could manage portion size and sweetness level.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
A portion of every ticket sold will benefit Siempre Unidos LA, a grassroots nonprofit assisting immigrant families affected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and deportations through food, emergency assistance, legal referrals and community support.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
A dose implies only a portion — which probably means more hikes may come down the road.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026
I still can’t say with certainty why this prosecution was perpetuated—what portion was attributable to the motivations of individual government agents and what portion to forces of institutional inertia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Nathan began sharing out the rice and dhal, carefully tearing the plantain leaf he carried into three pieces on which to put each portion.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Social posts predicted “the beginning of the end,” along with smaller portions and worse food.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
But this year, portions of the river have been transformed into stretches of dry sand and gravel, while farmers have kept hayfields green by running their wells and pumps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Carter's company has more than 1,250 acres of apple orchards in Washington, and the fruit is grown for sliced apple portions – often sold to hotels and schools, for example.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Scientists and trainees from several other institutions also collaborated on portions of the work.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
“What makes my legs go, Dranpa?” asked the young philosopher, surveying those active portions of his frame with a meditative air, while resting after a go-to-bed frolic one night.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Some are portioned out in small vials, while others are reconstituted from raw ingredients by agents or resellers who sell the peptides ready to use.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Howrey’s own politics are here — feminist, environmentalist, activist — but believably portioned out to her characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Each packet contains portioned servings of peeled, cooked and mashed sweet potatoes that have then been frozen.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025
Fights with spouses or partners if meals aren’t portioned equally, or panic that a family member might eat the last of a favorite food — even though they’re able to go get more.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
In no time at all they’d gathered back at the same spot, where Ben set out the ink, portioned into several small bowls.
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
The precise portioning of the secret ingredients, matching the ratios of the founder’s original formula, happens in a room locked off from employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Police discovered the defendant had previously been employed as a "skilled butcher", and her work involved "deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife".
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
China said it would be conducting live-fire drills on Tuesday, portioning out seven zones for the operations in the waters around Taiwan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
“We know that portioning is a core equity of ours in the organization,” Boatwright said.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2024
There were perhaps seven or eight thousand of all three races there—the Ssassarors, the Amphibs, the Humans—with an unequal portioning of each.
From Rastignac the Devil by Philip José Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
